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GAMES MAGAZINE "CONNECT THE DOTS" LETTER
The major advantage of direct mail as an advertising medium is that it is "the personal medium."
Yet far too few users have taken advantage of the opportunities to add a personal touch to their
mailings. Experience has shown the use of personalization can substantially increase response by
100% or more. Appropriately used, personalization generally will increase response from customer
lists by an average of 30-35% and 20-25% from prospect lists.
Many direct mail users, however, confuse "personalization" and "personal." The best personalized
letters do not try to trick the recipient into thinking the letter has been created "just for him."
Instead, the techniques of personalization are used to — in effect — say, "You were specially
selected to receive this mailing."
The majority of users of personalization have simply inserted the recipients' names into letters.
While, in some cases, this may be enough to produce increased response, it doesn't represent the
most effective use of personalization.
Consider, for example, this classic personalized mailing from Games magazine. A large window at
the top of the envelope had a series of dots with consecutive numbers. The teaser message said,
"Connect the dots and discover a surprise from Games magazine! Gift pencil enclosed." Any real
prospect for Games could hardly resist the connect-the-dots challenge. And when the envelope
was opened, the dots were there at the top of the letter, which started:
Go on ... connect the dots . . . and share the fun we had designing
this puzzle just for you.
And that's what GAMES magazine is all about — to fascinate you,
tease you; involve you in something entirely different . .. to help
keep your wits sharp and your mind buzzing with fresh ideas ... to
entertain and delight you for hours on end.
You see, Richard Hodgson, GAMES magazine isn't a magazine you
just read. It's a magazine you play.
There was other personalization in the letter, but the thing that made this letter such a classic was
that when you connected the dots with the enclosed pencil — they spelled out your name! The
computer programmer who created the dot structure to spell out each recipient's name was Bob
Chelius, and he gets my applause for one of the most effective personalization techniques I've yet
seen.
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